PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – This week, we’ve been taking a look at spring cleaning for your computers and other tech. Today, we’re spending some time giving smartphones a good cleansing, inside and out.

Even if you’re not texting from the toilet, your cell phone is a dirty device.

Gunk gets on the keys of a Blackberry or other handhelds with physical keyboards.

“You can very carefully go after them with a Q-Tip and some rubbing alcohol. As long as it doesn’t get into the system, that takes that grime off pretty easily.”

But for touchscreens, PCMag.com mobile expert Sacha Segan says stay away from household cleaners, and use a microfiber cloth or specialised wipes designed for electronics, like Wireless Wipes.

If there’s clutter on the inside causing you to run out of room.

“On an Android phone, you can empty the caches — the stored data that your various apps have — through the Settings menu under ‘manage applications.’ If you have an iPhone, you can go into iTunes and tweak some of the settings — for instance, to keep fewer podcasts on your phone.”

Segan recommends Onavo and Juice Defender as apps that keep track of data and battery use.

Ian Bush is an anchor, reporter, news editor, and technology editor at KYW Newsradio.
Bush joined the airstaff in August 2005 after serving as a desk/production assistant since October 2002. In 2008, he was named one of national radio’s '30 Under...